| West Virginia (Randolph County), Cheat Bridge — Astride the Road from Nowhere |
| | "Our tents were pitched on a rocky point with a fine forest on every side and a magnificent view of the Alleghenies on front of us, a beautiful romantic, though desolate spot." - William Houghton, 14th Indiana Infantry, July 16, 186 Indiana Historical Society
The primeval wilds of Cheat Mountain greeted Union soldiers. The land was dominated by tall red spruce and impenetrable rhododendron thickets. Federal troops built the fort on the appropriated farm of Southern . . . — Map (db m58245) HM |
| West Virginia (Randolph County), Cheat Bridge — Behind the Parapet |
| | Union soldiers built the main earthworks here to provide defense. They made the embankment by forming a crib with spruce logs. The crib was then filled with earth and stone.
Such a fortification would provide protection from rifle and artillery fire. The original wall was reported to be more than ten feet high and eight feet thick at its base. — Map (db m58241) HM |
| West Virginia (Randolph County), Cheat Bridge — Cabin Remains |
| | This area is where troops were quartered. Most cabins within the earthworks were lumber structures with bark roofs. These measured roughly 40 feet by 20 feet and were extremely crowed at times. The circular mounds usually represent collapsed chimneys. Under certain ground conditions it is possible to view the outline of the cabin, represented by a subtle embankment. Many of the mounds were vandalized before Cheat Summit Fort entered into public ownership. — Map (db m58249) HM |
| West Virginia (Randolph County), Cheat Bridge — Cheat Summit Camp |
| | Also called Fort Milroy. Fortified camp in gap at the crest of White Top of Cheat Mountain. Occupied by Federal troops during fall and winter of 1861-1862; repulsed threats in Lee's mountain campaign of 1861. Fort's command of the Parkersburg-Staunton Turnpike prevented Lee's army from advancing inland. Above 4,000 feet elevation, highest Union fort in the Civil War. — Map (db m46328) HM |
| West Virginia (Randolph County), Cheat Bridge — Cheat Summit Fort — 1861-1862 |
| | Cheat Summit Fort, also called “Fort Milroy,” was constructed by Federal troops in the summer of 1861. The fort was positioned to control the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike. Initial work was conducted by six companies of the 14th Indiana Infantry Regiment under Colonel Nathan Kimball. At 4,000 feet, it is the highest known Union fortification in the east.
Attack on Cheat Mountain
In September of 1861 of General Robert E. Lee directed the Confederate Army of the . . . — Map (db m58239) HM |
| West Virginia (Randolph County), Cheat Bridge — Guarding the Turnpike |
| | Federal forces built Cheat Summit Fort to control the strategic Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike, the road below you. It ran from Virginia to Parkersburg, (West) Virginia. When finished, the turnpike opened the first continuous route between Richmond and the Ohio River. The road was originally chartered in 1817, but would not be completed until 1847. Today U.S. 250 and WV Route 47 roughy follow its path.
Further east along the turnpike, Confederates constructed Camps Bartow and Allegheny. . . . — Map (db m58243) HM |
| West Virginia (Randolph County), Cheat Bridge — Shavers Fork |
| | Mountaintop Watershed
Near this point the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike crossed the Shavers Fork of the Cheat River, going over Cheat Mountain at a high point of almost 4000 feet at White Top. The Shavers Fork forms a high elevation watershed on top of Cheat Mountain, making it the highest large stream in the East. The high elevation, cool temperatures and heavy precipitation create a climate in this watershed supporting a red spruce dominated ecosystem more akin to forests of Canada . . . — Map (db m58251) HM |
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